October retail sales beat forecasts

Retail sales rose 0.5% in October, beating economists' forecasts, according to a Commerce Department report released Tuesday morning. Sales at consumer electronics stores rose 3.7%, the biggest jump in almost two years, as shoppers snapped up iPads and other gadgets. "Households continue to spend at a pace that can keep the U.S. economy comfortably out of recession," said Eric Green, chief market economist at TD Securities in New York.